A state appeals court, in a forcefully worded decision released Friday, ordered the Christie administration agency overseeing New Jersey’s policies promoting affordable housing to meet and adopt new rules by the end of the month.

The ruling is the latest in a series of setbacks for Governor Christie, a Republican who’s long been a critic of New Jersey’s affordable-housing policies, much of them brought on by earlier court decisions commonly referred to as the Mount Laurel doctrine.

The state Attorney General’s Office sought to delay the new court ruling Friday within hours of its release. The appeals court immediately denied that request.

The Mount Laurel rulings, named for court battles stemming from that South Jersey community, say that municipalities have an obligation to accommodate housing for persons of low and moderate income. Christie has sought to disband the state’s Council on Affordable Housing, set up in 1985 to administer affordable-housing rules, arguing that it has been ineffective and puts a heavy strain on towns struggling to keep development and property taxes in check.

But the governor was overruled in September by the state Supreme Court. The high court wrote at the time that new guidelines were needed to further incentivize affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents by the end of February 2014.

When the February deadline passed without the council adopting any new rules, Fair Share Housing Center, a Cherry Hill-based advocacy group, sued the state, setting the stage for Friday’s ruling issued against the Christie administration.

As soon as this Wednesday, the council will have to meet because of the latest court order. By March 26, new rules must be adopted, the ruling said.

The appellate court’s order also seeks to hold each of the council’s members personally accountable under the threat of contempt of court for formulating and adopting the rules.

“If these measures prove to be ineffective, we may have no other choice but to declare that event to be [the council’s] third and final strike,” the court decision said.

“We hold [the council] has failed to carry out this court’s mandate,” the appeals court said. “We further hold [the council] has failed to offer any plausible explanation for its failure to carry out this court’s order.”

The court, however, did not grant Fair Share Housing Center — which also has been suing the Christie Administration over its handling of Superstorm Sandy recovery programs for homeowners — its request that the courts take over the rule-making process. But the ruling threatened it could in the future if there is more foot-dragging by the administration.

Kevin Walsh, the associate director of Fair Share Housing Center, was mostly satisfied the court did not side with the council, which was seeking a five-month extension.

“The courts have said ‘Enough is enough,’ ” Walsh said.

Neither Christie’s office nor the Department of Community Affairs, which oversees the Council on Affordable Housing, returned calls for comment Friday afternoon.

In the motion for a stay filed Friday in response to the appeals court decision, the Attorney General’s office asked that the ruling be delayed pending review by the state Supreme Court.

As a candidate for office and now as a governor beginning a second term, Christie has been a sharp and frequent critic of the Mount Laurel doctrine. His attacks have come amid his attempts to remake what he considers to be a state Supreme Court that is too “activist,” issuing rulings that go beyond judicial boundaries.

Democrats who control the state Legislature have thus far blocked Christie’s attempts to appoint more Republicans and right-leaning independents on the high court, but the governor has vetoed legislation they’ve advanced seeking to resolve the stalemate over affordable-housing rules.